• Ream, Robert R.
  USDA Forest Service
  
• Ohmann, Lewis F.
  University of Montana
  

The vegetation of the BWCA is made up of many different plant species growing together in various mixtures at different locations. If we are to advance our knowledge of the effects of man, fire, wind, insects, disease, and time on the development and changes in this mosaic of plants, it is essential to break this mosaic down into natural units called plant communities. plant communities may differ from one another in the species they contain, in the relative amounts of the species, or both. The objective of this study was to conduct an inventory and systematic analysis and develop a classification of the upland virgin plant communities in this wilderness area. Thus, this paper deals primarily with the quantitative description and classification of the plant communities. Because it is intended to serve as both a description of the plant communities and as a source of quantitative ecological baseline data, it also contains an extensive appendix of data.